PROGRESS OF THE WAR

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Jun 21, 1877

PROGRESS OF THE WAR.

NOTHING has occurred, or at least nothing has been reported from either Asia Minor or the banks of the Danube, to change the opinions formed of the probable results of the war between Turkey and Russia since hostilities were actually commenced. The progress of the war has been retarded by floods in the Danube, which have prevented the Russians from crossing that stream and have delayed movements in Asia Minor. The forces of the opposing powers are well known, and the ultimate aims of the Czar are perfectly well understood, in spite of the diplomatic communications between St. Petersburg and London to disguise them. There have been some hard-fought battles, a good deal of strategy has been displayed, and the fighting qualities of both contestants have been tested; but no positive advantage has been gained on either side, and the engagements, though leading to a great destruction of life and property, are merely skirmishes when viewed in relation to the great battles which must take place and decide the contest when the two forces find themselves in positions of attack and defense.

The Turks labor under the disadvantage of having their resources and position completely exposed. They have no secrets; while the Russians have discreetly managed to keep their intentions, as well as their resources, so carefully guarded that the outside world can only conjecture what they mean and where they intend to strike their hardest blows. The reply of Prince Gortschakoff, therefore, which he sent last week to the letter of Lord Derby stating the exceptions taken by the British Government to the course of Russia, is really of greater significance than any of the military movements that have been made on the Danube or in Asia Minor. From Prince Gortschakoff’s reply, which is extremely guarded, and moderated in its tone, no doubt, by the indecisive character of the military movements, we learn nothing positive in relation to Russian intentions, but that the Czar reserves to himself the right to carry the war into Egypt, and that Russia will not consent that any other Christian power shall take possession of Constantinople. But this objection does not apply to Alexandria or Cairo, and there is an increasing possibility that England may feel herself under the necessity of taking possession of Egypt, to secure the navigation of the Suez Canal. In the present condition of affairs, it would be impossible for Russia to make a landing in the territory of the Khedive, and the only result of an attempt to do so would be the certain occupancy of the country by Great Britain, as a protector and eventually as a ruler.

Whatever Russia might consent to as relates to Egypt, it is very clear, from the tenor of the Gortschakoff letter, that England will not be permitted to take possession of Constantinople, which, if not held in the control of the Turk, must be governed by international laws, on account of its importance to the maritime interests of the rest of the world.

There are chances in war that may give temporary advantages to one side or the other; but in such a contest as that between Russia and Turkey the possibilities of success are so greatly on one side that no turn of luck can prevent the triumph of the stronger party. Looking at the advantages possessed by the Russians, they do not seem to have achieved so many successes as might have been expected; and the Turks have done better than they could have been thought capable of doing at the outset. But the Turks have gained nothing. They have experienced some very severe losses, and all that can be scored for them is that they have retarded the movements of their enemy, who has not been in any manner weakened. The moment that the Turks retire from the field and shelter themselves in their fortresses they are doomed; for, though they may keep the Russians out of Kars, and Erzeroum, and Adrianople for a while, they must surrender sooner or later. The advantage which the Turks have is that, when they discover that to prolong the war would be certain defeat and the loss of Constantinople, they can consent to peace on the conditions of the resolutions at the Constantinople Conference. The Turk is not so fanatical as to consent to annihilation, any more than France was when the emperor surrendered himself a prisoner to Germany. There is small probability of the Porte surrendering Constantinople to Christian rule, and permitting the Cross to supplant the Crescent on the dome of St. Sophia.

The latest intelligence from Montenegro makes it seem tolerably sure that the Turks were repulsed from the Duga Pass, after five days of severe fighting, and a loss of near four thousand men, while the Montenegrins lost but seven hundred. If this news should be confirmed, it will prove one of the most important incidents of the war thus far, and give a serious blow to the hopes of the Turks. As the waters of the Danube are now subsiding, the attempt of the Russians to effect a passage of the river must within a few days lead to some decisive action, which it would be needless to anticipate.—Independent.